Wang Guangyi - Contemporary Art Evening Sale London Wednesday, February 27, 2008 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Shanghart Gallery, Shaghai

  • Literature

    Elle China, April, 2006 (illustrated); AD Spain, October, 2007 (illustrated)

  • Catalogue Essay

    The ‘Eternal Halo’ series also represents this idea of a return to the original state or condition. The impetus behind these works was actually the artistic language of the “blackboard newspapers”. In the past my thinking was very unclear: I thought this was all distant history. But in reality this history has cast a huge shadow – whether for better or worse – not only over China but over the world in general. It is a shadow that will not lift for a very long time: and in this lies its significance.
    This is not a return to the original state or condition in the usual meaning of the term. This shadow has spread all over the world, and when you confront it, it becomes a huge, inescapable pressure. My feeling now is that when you look at an artist’s work, you are seeing a view of his personal history; but it also represents a whole generation. This is one value of the artist in the overall structure of society. At the same time that an artist criticizes society, he also acts to alert it, to awaken it,.to the awareness that there may be many things spreading forever through one’s consciousness. [This awareness] may perhaps be the starting point for the revival of a nation and a people. G. Wang, Artist’s Statement, at http://www.hanart.com

205

Eternal Halo

2004
Oil on canvas.
150.2 x 120 cm. (59 1/4 x 47 1/4 in).
Signed and dated ‘Wang Guangyi 2004 [in English and Chinese]’ on face.

Estimate
£100,000 - 150,000 

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

28 Feb 2008, 7pm
London